


What's left behind is nothing compared what is ahead

by Eleni_Sk



Series: Coronas and Viruses [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe, And of course They Fell In Love, Because I can write the same thing a million different ways, Because Their love Is bigger Than The Freaking Universe, But is has nothing to do with Boston Berries, Different Meeting, F/M, Gen, They Had Met Earlier, college pregnancy, there is no choice, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29654715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleni_Sk/pseuds/Eleni_Sk
Summary: Oliver's one regret was not telling Felicity he loved her, sooner. What if they met and fall in love in Boston. What if Oliver left more than just Felicity behind? And what happens when Oliver comes back?
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Series: Coronas and Viruses [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698355
Comments: 34
Kudos: 104





	What's left behind is nothing compared what is ahead

**Author's Note:**

> So, remember how I said I was going to take a break before posting again? That was totally my plan, but then I had a dream that resulted in this little one-shot. It draws ideas from Boston Berries and chapter 2 of You will always be my Girl, but it is not related to either story. I just had to get it out of my head. So I wrote it and I thought that maybe someone might want to read it, too. So, here we are. It's a one-shot for the time being but I have plans on expanding a little.  
> Anyway, I have two questions for you. First, do you know any Olicity stories taking place in Greece, other than Dear John by Shideezhi? And secondly, I was reading At the Right Time (yes, I go back and re-read my own stories, I'm weird) and I realized that in the first chapter, the last part is missing, not only from the posted story but from my own archive as well, so I was wondering if maybe someone of you had downloaded it before it somehow got deleted. I'm missing the part with their date and their night together. Yes, I know, I managed to lose the good part when I was editing out dome grammatical mistakes.  
> I don't think I will post again until I'm ready to start posting my new multi-chapter story, though who knows with me? was thinking about spoiling something, but I won't. As always, don't forget to tell me what you think and stay safe! 
> 
> (I'm going to go back to writing because I think my sister is going to start yelling at me. She wants me to finish that story asap 😘😘)

Thea stood in front of her window, watching the Bentley pulling up the front door. She watched with wide eyes as her brother, her long thought dead brother, got out of the car. She had to pinch herself, just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming.

“He is here,” she whispered on the phone she was holding to her ear. “Are you far?” she asked. “Okay, I will see you in a minute. Bye,” she said tearfully and threw her phone on the bed, before making a run for the foyer.

The door slammed behind her and Thea ran down the hallway and to the top of the stairs, stopping only for a moment to take her brother in.

“I knew it!” she exclaimed. “I knew you were alive!” she said and ran down the stairs and into her brother’s arms.

“You were with me the whole time,” Oliver said quietly, wrapping his arms around her.

They stayed embraced for a few moments before Oliver pulled back a little. "I need to find someone.”

“Who?” their mother frowned.

"Maybe Tommy can help me find-"

“They are on their way, Ollie,” Thea assured him.

“What?”

“I know about Boston and what dad forced you to leave behind. They told me, only me, after …. You know. They should be here any moment now,” she said steadily.

“Really?” his breath caught on his throat.

“I promise. I was just on the phone with Tommy," she nodded with a gentle smile. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't imagined this taking place, a million times. She was nervous and excited.

“Who is coming?” Moira questioned, but before anyone could reply to her, the door opened revealing Tommy Merlyn, a beautiful blonde woman, and a little girl.

“Aunt Thea!” the little girl exclaimed and ran to her. Thea swooped her up in her arms and kissed her cheek, aware of Oliver’s eyes on them.

“Oliver?” the woman whispered tearfully.

“Felicity,” he said the name like a prayer, and he had her in his arms in moments.

Felicity wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could, finally letting her tears flow down her cheeks.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Oliver murmured against her neck, breathing her scent.

“I’ve missed you, too, so much,” her voice was muffled by his chest.

Tommy walked over to Thea and the little girl with a soft smile on his face. “This has been a long time coming, hasn’t it?”

“A really long time,” Thea nodded. Thea looked over at her mother, who was about to demand answers and put a finger on her lips, telling her not to speak, with a glare.

Oliver pulled away, only half an inch, from Felicity and looked her in the eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Oliver,” Felicity said gently. “I know you did your best to come back.”

“I did, I swear,” he said wiping a tear away from her cheek with his thump. “Can I kiss you?”

“I thought I said that you never have to ask to kiss me?” she teased lightly.

“I didn’t know if you have a boyfriend or-“

“There has been no one else,” she said firmly.

Oliver didn’t need to be told twice, then. He captured her lips in a kiss that shook him to his very core. It was everything he wanted and needed. He was finally home.

Tommy was about to make a smart-ass comment, when Thea elbowed him, “Shut up, Tommy,” she glared.

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes.

"Felicity, what about our baby?" Oliver asked softly when they came up for air.

“Oh, my god! I forgot about the munchkin!” she exclaimed. “I’m terrible!”

“Don’t worry, Fee,” Thea said. “The little genius is right here, safe and sound.”

Oliver turned to his sister and he forgot how to breathe. The little girl in his sister's arms was obviously his and Felicity's daughter. Their baby. The unborn baby, he was forced to leave for three weeks, which ended up being five years.

Felicity had been sixteen weeks pregnant when he stepped foot on the Gambit. He was supposed to be gone for three weeks, and then when he would come back, they were going to learn their baby’s gender together. But fate had other plans.

The little girl had light brown hair, Felicity’s natural color, and his eyes and nose. She had a bright smile and curious eyes. Her hair was up in a ponytail, secured with a sparkly gold tie. She wore jeans overall and a pink with black spots light jumper and pink sneakers.

That was his little girl.

“Do you want to meet our daughter?” Felicity asked gently.

“Excuse me!” Moira Queen roared.

“Not now, mother,” Oliver and Thea said together.

“Aunt Thea is that your brother?” the little girl asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, baby, he is. They found him,” Thea nodded, trying to keep her tears away.

“But …. That means he is my daddy!” she exclaimed and turned her head to Oliver. “Down, please.”

Thea kissed her niece’s cheek and set her down, letting her run to her parents. She stood in front of Oliver with wide eyes, and Oliver lowered himself to the ground. His daughter put her little hands on his cheeks and looked at him. “You’re prettier than the pictures,” she said. It had an instant effect. Tommy almost choked on his tongue, laughing. Thea snorted and Felicity giggled and then laughed heartily, before lowering herself down, just like Oliver.

“You’re right, baby. His old haircut was awful,” Felicity said with a big smile.

“I like this one better, too,” their daughter said.

"I like this haircut better, too," Oliver said with a big smile, a smile that hadn't been on his face for five years.

“Oliver, this is Emily Olivia Smoak, our baby girl. Emily, this is your dad,” Felicity said emotionally.

Emily for her part just wrapped her little arms around Oliver’s neck, hugging him as best as she could. Oliver took a shaky breath and wrapped his arms around his daughter’s little body. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you, baby,” Oliver said getting back on his feet, with Emily securely in his arms. He held her with one arm, and with the other pulled Felicity in their hug.

Thea stole Tommy’s phone and snapped a few pictures, sending them to herself and Felicity. They all had dreamed of that day, even when the world thought Oliver dead. Not Emily though. She always knew that one day her daddy was going to come back. 

“I’m still waiting,” Moira commented impatiently, making the little family separate from their hug.

“Well, this is a conversation, I don’t want to witness,” Tommy said. “Ems, do you want to go find Raisa with me and ask her if she has cookies?”

“Uncle Tommy, you’re still in the puppy house. I don’t know if I can,” Emily said.

“Puppy house?” Oliver frowned confused.

“She means the doghouse,” Felicity explained.

“All dogs are puppies,” Emily said.

“Why are you on the puppy house, Tommy?”

“Yeah, Tommy, why are you in the puppy house?” Thea grinned.

“Well,” he sniffed dramatically, “I am a mere human being, and I made a mistake or two. How about instead of cookies, we ask about orange juice?”

“But I don’t want to leave, daddy.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Emily,” Oliver said seriously. “Why don’t you go with Uncle Tommy while we speak with my mother, and then you can tell me all about how he got into the puppy house?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Okay,” Emily nodded. “I’ll go with Uncle Tommy.”

Oliver kissed his baby girl’s little cheek and set her down. Emily kissed his cheek, too, and went to Tommy. “You have to be careful, Uncle Tommy, if you get into more trouble, mamma may take your phone away again,” she said seriously to Tommy.

“I know, kiddo. Imagine if I wasn’t older than your mamma,” he shook his head and turned them so they could go to the kitchen.

“Oh! Hello, Mr. Walter!” the little girl beamed at the British man.

“Hello, Miss Emily,” he returned that smile.

“You know this child, Walter?” his wife inquired, just as Tommy led them away from the foyer.

“I do. Her mother is one of the best techs in our IT department,” Walter said.

“She should be the Head of IT instead of the idiot that is at the moment,” Thea rolled her eyes.

“Thea,” Felicity rolled her eyes.

“Oh, come on! You are a literal genius, and you are so much better than him! He tried to fix my laptop once when you were busy, and I ended up needing a new one. I'm right and you know it."

“I am considering her for the new Applied Science Department, if that makes you feel better, Thea. She is one of the top candidates,” Walter said.

“You are?" Felicity asked wide-eyed.

"It's not every day that someone graduates from MIT at 19 with two masters," Walter said. "Not to mention your stellar record thus far."

“Thank you, Mr. Steele,” she blushed at the praise.

“That’s wonderful and all, but what about that child?” Moira demanded. “I demand some explanations.

“It’s simple, really,” Oliver said. “You and dad cut me off and I started my own life in Boston. I met Felicity-“

“The best thing that has happened to you,” Thea pipped.

“We fell in love and well, a couple of months before my father forced me to take that trip with him, we found out we were having a baby. I was supposed to be back three weeks later, just in time to find out our baby’s gender, but that never happened.”

“And why didn’t I know about this?”

“Because I didn’t want you to,” Oliver said. “The plan was to tell Thea and that’s it.”

“I’m your mother, Oliver! I should know when a woman claims she is having your child!”

That had all head turn to her sharply. “I will stop you right there, mother,” Oliver said deadly. “Emily is mine, and I don’t need a DNA test to prove it. Just because you and dad lived in a world of lies and scams, it doesn’t mean I am, too.”

“And you should be careful, mother. Felicity isn’t important only to Oliver,” Thea said. “She is to me, too. She is my sister in all but blood. She and Emily are the only reason I didn't spiral completely out of control after the Gambit went down. God knows I was starting to until Tommy took to a trip to Boston to tell me about Felicity.”

“You’ve never been to Boston,” Moira said.

“Wrong,” Thea rolled her eyes. “That first Thanksgiving weekend, after I hadn’t seen or heard from you, Tommy told me to pack a weekend bag. He said that he was taking me to meet Oliver’s legacy. So, he took me to Boston, and we went to their apartment and I met Felicity, who took it upon herself to be there for me, even though we lived on different sides of the country,” she went to stand next to Felicity, who put an arm around her. “She was the one to help me get my grades up again, she the one I called when I missed them too much, or when a boy asked me out for the first time when the same boy broke my heart a few months later. When the brats of the school tried to pull me into their group of drugs and alcohol. And ever since she and Emily moved here three years ago, they have only missed one archery competition, among the dozens of things I have invited them to, because they were both down with the flu. Can you say the same?”

“Thea, I-“

“Have better things to do than come to your daughter’s school performance, I know,” she rolled her eyes.

“My parenting is not the topic, here,” she said sharply.

“Sure, sure,” waved her hand dismissingly. “Don’t forget your charity thing, this afternoon though. You can’t miss the things that matter,” she raised an eyebrow, challenging her to say something. “I’m going to take Felicity and go find Raisa’s cookies. You deal with her,” She said to her brother and pulled Felicity with her.

“Maybe I should stay, Thea-“

“Nope, there is no reason to go through that, Oliver will deal with her, and then he'll come to find us, and then we can explain to him why Tommy is in the puppy house,” Thea stated and took Felicity through the same door Tommy had used.

“This is your only warning, mother. You don't get to talk to Felicity like that. You don't know her. She is the most genuine person I have ever met. And the best thing to happen to me. Do you know how happy I was when we found out we were having a baby? Do you know how angry I was and still am with dad for making me go on that fucking trip with him? I missed five years, I missed the birth of my child, I missed her first word, her first steps, I missed a lot. And those five years, I was in hell, dreaming of the day I could get to come home, and I will be damned if I let you ruin this for me or my girls," Oliver said in a dangerous voice.

“Oliver, I only-“

“No,” he cut her off. “Felicity isn’t like dad’s mistresses. “She worked hard all her life to be where she is today. She doesn’t care about money and names. I have been fighting for five years to come back to her, and I will not allow you to belittle her or make comments like that about her and our daughter, who I might remind you is your granddaughter,” he said using a tone he had dubbed his mafia boss voice. “And if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find my family now.”

He didn’t wait for her reply, he disappeared from the doorway and made his way to the kitchen, where the sight made his heart warm.

Tommy was sitting on the table mock sulking, while Thea and Felicity sat across from him. Felicity had an amused smile on her face and Thea was smirking at her friend. Emily was on the counter helping Raisa make sandwiches.

Tommy spotted him first and was on his feet immediately. “What did I tell you? Yachts suck!”

Oliver grinned and hugged his brother in all but blood. "I missed you, buddy."

“I missed you, too.”

“Daddy!” his little girl beamed and tried to get down from the counter, but it was too high.

Oliver stepped away from Tommy and picked her up in his arms. “So, why is Uncle Tommy in the puppy house?”

“He was being naughty,” she giggled.

“I thought I was your favorite Uncle!” Tommy said dramatically.

“You are my only Uncle, Uncle Tommy,” Emily rolled her eyes. “He had promised to take me to the science museum,” she turned to her daddy.

“For the 20th time,” Tommy felt the need to add.

“But then he said he couldn’t because he had a date with… I don’t remember,” she frowned.

“Laurel,” Thea provided.

“Yes, he had a date with Laurel. And then he missed brunch with me and mamma and Aunt Thea the next morning because he had a sleepover. And then brought me cookie dough ice cream the next time he babysat me. He said it was all mine to eat whenever I wanted.”

“Oh, I see.”

"And she decided to have a mint of ice cream for dinner because Uncle Tommy said she could eat it whenever she wanted. And then she had a sugar high, followed by a tummy ache,” Felicity added.

“Well, those are all good reasons to be in the puppy house,” Oliver said looking at his daughter.

“I said I was sorry!” Tommy groaned.

“Uncle Tommy is not allowed to get me ice cream anymore,” Emily giggled.

“Felicity had me read four studies on proper dinners for kids,” Tommy added. “I think that was punishment enough.”

“Well, Ice cream is not a proper dinner, for either kids or adults,” Oliver said, sending a grin to Felicity, who stuck her tongue out.

“Do I need to remind you that evening in senior year at Andrew’s…”

“No, Tommy. I have learned my lesson, thank you very much," Oliver rolled his eyes.

Raisa brought them sandwiches and fresh juice and they had lunch together. Oliver was only too happy to hear his daughter tell him about her pre-school. She seemed content to sit on his lap, with no intention of moving. Oliver was perfectly happy with that.

“Ems, do you want to go to the garden to play with me? I think your mamma and daddy want to talk about grown-up things," Thea suggested.

“Alright,” Emily agreed reluctantly. “Are you coming, Uncle Tommy?”

“Not this time, kiddo. I have to go, but I will see you all later,” he said with an apologetic smile.

“Right-o,” Thea clapped her hands. “You can use my room if you don’t want to use yours, Ollie. We’re going to play and then we’ll go to the pond to see the fish.”

“You have fish?” Emily asked.

“Uh-huh,” Thea nodded, picking her up from Oliver’s lap. “We’ll see you later.”

“Bye, mamma. Bye, daddy,” she waved them.

“Bye, Emily,” her parents said together.

“So,” Felicity came and sat next to him. “Where do you want to go?”

"Thea's room, I think. Mine still has a nautical theme. I'd like to avoid it, if possible," he said putting an arm around Felicity.

Oliver led her out of the kitchen and to Thea’s room by the secondary staircase, hoping to avoid his mother. And they succeeded. Oliver closed the door to Thea’s room behind them and took a moment to look around. The room was vastly different from the last time he was in it before his parents cut him off from their lives. At the moment, Thea had a princess-themed room with a lot of pink and purple. And tiaras. Now the room was more grown-up, with a feminine feel through it.

Then his eyes took Felicity in.

“You’re nervous,” he said softly.

“I’m still not 100% sure I’m not dreaming,” she said slyly, looking at her feet. “I’ve dreamt of you coming back a million times.”

Oliver walked up to her and gently cupped her face with his hands. “I’m here, and I don’t plan on going anywhere. I’m so sorry, Felicity. I never wanted you to go through that. I would do anything to go back in time and not go on that trip.”

“But you can’t. and it’s not your fault, Oliver. Your father was threatening to keep Thea from you. I would have done the same,” she said gently, putting her hands on around his waist.

"I've dreamt a thousand times about coming home to you. That hope, of seeing you again kept me going because that island was hell on earth, Felicity. It screwed me up so bad. I’m so broken, I can’t begin to explain,” he said emotionally.

“Now that you are back, we’re going to fix everything. I will be right there next to you, doctor appointments, sleepless nights, whatever you need,” Felicity promised, and Oliver knew she meant it.

“Doctor Lamb recommended a therapist that specializes in PTSD. I want to get better, Felicity. For you, for our little girl, for Thea. I want to get better, so, even though at first I was going to bin the card, I’m going to make an appointment,” he said. And he meant it.

His father thought that it would be a brilliant idea to leave such a burden to him, after pretending he didn’t have a son for three years. It wasn’t his job to correct his father’s wrongs, but what was his job was to get better for his family and be the best father to Emily. He was going to help the people of Starling. The right way.


End file.
